San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Our Stories

OUR STORIES

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is an international, nonprofit conservation organization with two front doors: the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

We integrate wildlife health and care, science, and education, to develop sustainable conservation solutions.

Our team and partners pursue wildlife protection strategically by focusing on eight conservation hubs located on six continents: the Asian Rainforest, the Pacific Islands, the African Forest, Amazonia, the Southwest, the Savanna, the Australian Forest, and in the Oceans.

PRZEWALSKI’S HORSE ———————— MONGOLIA

Known as the only true wild horse left on Earth, the Przewalski’s horse nearly went extinct by the 1970s, with the only animals remaining scattered about in various world zoos. Then, an exchange of horses began between zoos, resulting in the reintroduction of 16 horses into their native Mongolia.

Over the last three decades, two Przewalski’s horse foals have been successfully cloned, supporting the concept that cloning can be used as a viable tool for genetic rescue to protect endangered species. The second foal, born in February 2023 to a domestic surrogate mare, is a clone of a male Przewalski’s horse stallion whose living cell line was cryopreserved over 40 years ago in the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Frozen Zoo®.

NORTHERN WHITE RHINO ———————— UGANDA

With only two animals remaining on Earth, the northern white rhino is on the brink of extinction.

Worse, the two remaining animals are both females, unable to breed. To combat this, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has made an organization-wide commitment to focus on repopulation efforts around this critical species.

This requires cutting-edge science and the resources of the Alliance’s Frozen Zoo®, the largest and most diverse collection of living cell cultures, oocytes, sperm and embryos. Our researchers analyzed the genome sequences of northern and southern white rhinos and determined that a sufficient gene pool exists to recover a population, if technology is perfected. And, a great example of that perfection came into being with the birth of Edward, the first southern white rhino born from artificial insemination in North America.

EBO GORILLA ———————— CAMEROON

In 2002, we came across something unexpected in Central Africa: a new breed of gorilla, unknown in the primatological world, living in a forested area in Ebo, Cameroon. The Ebo gorillas, whose population might number as low as 15, were discovered with trail cameras set up three years prior. And how rare of a sight were they?

A second picture of them was not captured for another 14 years. Since then, both still and video cameras have been set up, which was no small feat in a community with no electricity or running water. Our work expanded to include Gorilla Guardian Groups, storytelling in local villages to protect these animals; and the support of small-scale sustainable livelihood projects like soap making and cocoa farming.

MOUNTAIN YELLOW LEGGED FROG ———————— CALIFORNIA

Thousands of mountain yellow-legged frogs are being released back into the San Bernardino Mountains as part of a program spearheaded by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The program, which began when scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey rescued 80 tadpoles and brought them to the Safari Park, has helped restore a species whose numbers fell so dramatically that they were declared endangered. Through habitat loss, drought, and attacks by fungus, the mountain yellow-legged frog population was being threatened, but now, each year, hundreds of froglets are being reintroduced to areas where they once thrived.

SUMATRAN TIGER ———————— SUMATRA

The population of Sumatran tigers has fallen below 400 in the world, and many scientists believe that the animal could become extinct in its native Sumatra this decade unless measures are taken to protect it. The animal’s biggest threat is from poachers, intent on selling tiger body parts for folk remedies.

At the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, wildlife care specialists are helping to shepherd the return of these beautiful big cats, and several have been born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Tull Family Tiger Trail habitat. The team oversees the natural breeding process, but when the young tigers cannot gain weight on their own, wildlife care specialists step in to assure their survival.

‘ALALĀ ———————— HAWAII

Hundreds of years ago, the Hawaiian rainforest was full of the vibrant songs of the island’s unique bird population. Yet over time, the forest became quiet. Now, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is partnering with avian recovery specialists to reintroduce the ‘alalā (Hawaiian crow).

Care specialists are helping the birds build nests, rear their young, and forage for food. This essentially replicates a “wild” environment—complete with the breeding of native spiders for food—all while trying to contain the big threat: mosquitoes carrying avian malaria and pox virus.

THE FROZEN ZOO ———————— SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

The loss of biodiversity around the world is a critical threat to the survival of habitat, wildlife, and ecosystems. Worse, as wild populations decline, so does the genetic variation that underpins their ability to adapt to change. To combat that, scientists from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance have developed a Wildlife Biodiversity Bank.

Known as the Frozen Zoo®, it is the largest and most diverse collection of living cell cultures, oocytes, sperm, and embryos. The Frozen Zoo® is not simply a theoretical storage bank. Over the last several decades, scientists have used living cell lines to study the lineage of the near-extinct northern white rhino; to clone two Przewalski’s horses; and aid in new reproductive technologies, including artificial insemination.

PACIFIC POCKET MOUSE ———————— CALIFORNIA

Sometimes a small species needs a helping hand to survive, and that’s the case with North America’s smallest mouse, the Pacific pocket mouse, which weighs in at only six ounces. Thought to be extinct for nearly 20 years, three small groups of mice were found in Southern California.

Scientists from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance stepped in to move these tiny miracles to an off-habitat area at the Safari Park, where they could flourish in number. The animals also participated in a predator training program to help them avoid owls and snakes. Now, they are being reintroduced to their native coastal lands, where the animals are critical to the spread of plant seeds and the release of water from the earth.

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For more information, contact: David Miller Chief Marketing Officer Office 619.557.3997 dmiller@sdzwa.org

Andrea McCallin Director of Content Development and Production Office 619.539.0673 amccallin@sdzwa.org

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